casting a final ballot and provide for provisional voting when eligibility is in doubt. It also would require individuals to prove their identity when registering to vote. Also, first-time voters who register by mail would have to prove their identity prior to voting. [HR 3285, 10/16/02, Vote 238] XXXX Voted Against Providing $1 Billion to Help States Improve Election Technology and Administration. On October 23, 2003, XXXX voted against an amendment that would provide $1 billion to states to assist efforts to improve election technology and the administration of federal elections. The vote was on a Dodd, D-Conn., motion to waive the Budget Act with respect to the Stevens, R-Alaska, point of order against the Dodd amendment (no. 1928) to the FY 2004 Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill. The Dodd amendment would add $1 billion to the bill to provide grants for states to assist efforts to improve election technology and the administration of federal elections. The motion was agreed to 63-31, and the amendment was adopted by voice vote. [HR 2989, 10/23/03, Vote 409; Associated Press, 10/23/03] GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS XXXX Voted Against Prohibiting Defense Contracting With Companies Who Deny Women Their Day in Court for Sexual Assault Claims. In October 2009, McConnell voted against an amendment to the FY 10 Defense Appropriations that would prohibiting the Defense Department from contracting with companies that require employees to resolve sexual assault allegations and other claims through arbitration. Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota said he sponsored the measure in response to the case of former KBR/Halliburton employee Jamie Leigh Jones, who alleges she was raped by co-workers while in Iraq in 2005. She went public with her story in 2007. "Contractors are using fine print to deny women like Jamie Leigh Jones their day in court," Franken said during debate on the amendment. The amendment was adopted 68-30. [Houston Chronicle, 10/07/09; Vote 308, 10/06/09] XXXX Voted to Require Federal Agencies to Submit Annual Reports About Competition for Government Contracts. In 2003, XXXX voted for an amendment that would require the executive branch to make a detailed annual report to Congress about competition between public and private sectors for government contracts. The amendment would require federal agencies to submit an annual report to Congress detailing competition between federal government and private sector sources to perform services within those agencies. The AP reported that the vote “signaled some wariness” with White House plans to increase competition between the public and private sectors for federal contracts. The amendment would also prohibit private contractors doing government work from taking the work overseas. [HR 2989, 10/23/03, Vote 407; Associated Press, 10/23/03] XXXX Voted for Rules, Supported by Bush, to Allow Private Sector to Compete for Federal Contracts. In 2003, XXXX voted against an amendment that would have blocked the new contracting rules, supported by President Bush, to increase competition between the private and public sector for government contracts. The amendment was “sponsored by Maryland lawmakers with large numbers of federal employees among their constituents, and they offered it despite a renewed veto threat.” Sen. Mikulski, said allowing the rules to go forward would undermine the independent civil service and lead to “cronyism and political patronage.” “Prohibiting the use of the new (rules) to conduct public-private competitions is akin to mandating a monopoly regardless of the impact on services to citizens and the added cost to taxpayers,” the Bush administration said in a statement. The vote was on an amendment that would prohibit the use of any funds in the bill for implementing new Office of Management and Budget guidelines for opening up some government activities to competition between governmental and private sources. [HR 2989, 10/23/03, Vote 408; Associated Press, 10/23/03] XXXX Voted Against Blocking New Studies of Whether Private Contractors Should Take Over Federal Government Jobs. In 2003, XXXX voted against an amendment that would have blocked “new studies of whether private contractors should take over thousands of jobs […] done by federal employees at the Interior and Agriculture departments.” The amendment would prohibit the use of funds in the bill for competitive sourcing reviews. The Washington Post described the Reid amendment as “an attempt to curtail President Bush's drive to open up more government work to bidding by private contractors.” [HR 2691, 9/23/03, Vote 361; Washington Post, 9/24/03] 98